Stool Re-do

I was looking for something to put in my closet to use to reach things on my top shelf.  I'm 5'10", but still, I can't even reach the top shelf!  Well I found this stool at a yard sale and bought it for $5.00. 

All it took was a little elbow grease (sand paper) and a $3.00 can of spray paint and now I have a pretty little stool that I can leave in my bedroom and use when I need it. 

Cute!

Bahama Mamma

Some day I'll get to the Bahama's, but until then a girl can dream of sitting on the beach sipping this yummy drink!  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
¾ ounce Coconut Rum (Malibu)
¾ ounce Banana Liqueur (Hiram Walker)
1 ounce Spiced Rum (Captain Morgan)
1.5 ounce Orange Juice
2.5 ounce Pineapple Juice
2-4 dashes (1-2 tablespoon) Grenadine
¼ cup crushed ice

Preparation:

Combine all the ingredients and mix them in a cocktail shaker. Serve in a cocktail glass. Garnish with Orange/Pineapple wedge and a Maraschino Cherry

Rundown Beauty

I cam across this house while out for a drive a few weeks ago and instantly fell in love with it.  It has such character and charm, and even though it's rundown, it looks like a house that used to be cozy loved.  While I was taking the pictures, I imagined that it could have been a house that the characters in To Kill A Mockingbird would have lived in.  I grabbed my camera and started clicking away.  This is one of my favorite pics from that day.

Snapdragons

These beautiful flowers are outside the door to the school I work in.  They are a happy reminder that we need to enjoy the beauty in each day and put aside all the negativity that people may bring into our lives.

Walking

Each week I try to submit a photo onto the Photo Friday website.  This week the challenge is "Walk".  The photo I entered was taken a few years back of my husband and son at Fort Mott in South Jersey.  I love the colors and the peacefulness of the two of them just enjoying each others company while walking through the national park.  Hope you enjoy it too!

Mini Corn Dog Muffins

If you like corn dogs then here is a quick and easy recipe that we made in my cooking club at school yesterday.  You need just 4 ingredients, 2 mini muffin trays and some non-stick spray and you'll have a yummy treat for an after school snack or to serve at your next social gathering.

Ingredients:
2 boxes of Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 package of hot dogs (I use Ball Park Franks)
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk

Preheat your oven for 400 degrees.  Follow the Jiffy package directions to make the corn muffin mix.  Once you've finished making the mix, cut your hot dogs into 1" pieces.  Now it's time to assemble them for the oven.  Spray your muffin tins with some nonstick spray.  Spoon in about a tablespoon of corn muffin mix into  each muffin well.  They should only be filled about 1/2 to 2/3's full.  Then push a piece of hot dog down into the center of the muffin batter.

Place muffin tins in over and bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Remember oven temps vary so keep and eye on them after they've been in the oven for 10 minutes. 

Pull them out of the oven when done and let cool in tins for a few minutes.  Then remove them and plate them up to enjoy.  We had mustard and ketchup with ours.

Hope you like them as much as we did.  ENJOY!

Mother's Day 2012

This Mother's Day I spent some time just me and B.  We went for a ride and ended up in a little fishing town called Shell Pile.  It lived up to it's name.  There were really piles of shells everywhere.  It was such a beautiful day. and I was glad to spend it doing what I love the best ... being a mom!

Happy Mother's Day!

Vootbeer Float

Today's cocktail is so easy to make and even better to drink.  It's called Vootbeer Float.  I can't wait to have one later tonight.  I'm having a friend over for dinner and will be servings these with a few yummy Weight Watcher appetizers.

You will need:
4 oz. of Pinacle Whipped Vodka
4 oz. of your favorite Rootbeer (I like A&W for the creaminess)
Dollop of whipped cream

Pours Vodka and Rootbeer in a glass filled with ice.  Add whipped cream and enjoy!

Taking a Peek

I was going through some old photos and came across this one of "B" on the USS North Carolina that is docked in Wilmington, NC.  We were on our way to my nephew's Marine graduation and this was one of the road trip destination. 

I love how he's peaking down at me. We were trying to stay dry during a sudden down pour and he was hiding in a gun turret.  He's so darn cute!

Saturday's Cocktail

Strawberry Shortcake Martini

Here's this week yummy cocktail.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

For the Strawberry Puree (enough for 5 martinis):
16 ounces frozen whole strawberries
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice

For the Strawberry Shortcake Martini:
2 ounces Pinacle Cake flavored vodka
3 ounces of strawberry puree
fresh whipped cream, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

For the Strawberry Puree:
Simmer for 10 minutes until sugar is dissolved and fruit is softened. Allow to cool and blend vigorously until smooth. If there are any pulp/seeds left, strain through a fine mesh strainer.

For the Strawberry Shortcake Martini:
Place ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake vigorously until chilled. Pour into a martini glass and top with (optional) dollop of fresh whipped cream, and garnish with a sliced strawberry.

finally friday

This week has been crazy!  Crazy kids at work, crazy co-workers, ... crazy!  It must have something to do with the full moon we're having tonight.  Well anyway, here is a collection of pictures from my week. 

I have to say this is one of my favorite snacks

Hobby Lobby opened recently near us and I LOVE IT!

Homemade ice cream cake I made for my son's birthday

The candy bouquet I made for my son's birthday

For not having a green thumb, my Easter flower is still going strong.

Love the light flares in this picture.

Leftover pizza, yum!

Vintage ice tea pitcher and glasses I found while dropping stuff off at my mom's church yard sale.  I unloaded about 15 boxes of stuff and only brought home this and a stone baker.  Not bad!



A childhood favorite I came across while clearing out the basement.

Me & My Little Man

Just wanted to share a photo I took of me and my recently turned 12 year-old little man!  I just love this kid!

Medical Bag DIY

I teach preschool and have over the years collected an array of stuff.  One thing that I had a lot of, was medical play tools.  The doctor's totes that they come in last about a year and then you're left with the play tools and nothing to put them into and a broken medical box.

 
So what do you do with all the mismatched items.  Well, I decided to create a canvas tote for them.  Here are the items I used.  An tan tote and some red polyester fabric.  I also cut out to rectangular templates to make a cross and used my handy dandy cutting board to lay everything out.

Once I cut the fabric pieces and pinned them to the tote, I used my sewing machine to sew a zigzag stitch along the long edges.  I'm not overly concerned about the short ends.  This is what the tote looked like when I was finished. 

To finish the bag off, I added some pictures of x-rays that I uploaded from the Internet and laminated for durability.  Remember these are preschoolers. Now all my mismatched medical play tools have a new home that won't be falling apart anytime soon!